Das Kapital

Das Kapital is the foundational text of Marxist economics, a formidable analysis of the capitalist mode of production that introduced the concepts of surplus value, commodity fetishism, and the structural dynamics of class struggle. Karl Marx's systematic critique of capitalism shaped the political and economic history of the twentieth century more decisively than perhaps any other single work of social theory.

Drafted during the height of the Industrial Revolution, largely in the reading room of the British Museum, Das Kapital was published in its first volume in 1867. The work provided the theoretical foundation for communist movements worldwide, leading directly to the establishment of the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and numerous other socialist states. It remains the most consequential text in the history of economic thought.